Airship.



R. E. GREEN.

AIRSHIP.

APPL'IGATION FILED JUNE 22, 1909.

Patented June 7, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

@SQQQSQSQ WITNESSES? Arron/vus R. E. GREEN.

AIRSHIP.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 22, 1909.

Patented June 7, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

TTORNE YS UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.' j

ROBERT E. GREE, OF NEW YQRK, N. Y.

, Amsmr.

To all'whomfit may concern. v

Be it known that I, RoBERT E. GREEN, a citizenof the United States, and a resident of New York, .county an'd State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Airships, 'of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates more particularly to what are known as aeroplanes or heavierthan-air airships. A

The primary object of the invention is to provide a simple and efficient machine in which a very large sait or'supporting arca may becontained in a compact space, and the sailsorV supporting elements made adj ustable so that the machine may beproperly manipulated in its flight either for ascending or descending or for sailing in a direct line, thereby overcoming the' objections of machines of this character as ordinarily constructed in which the parts thereof roj ect a considerable distance from the bo y of the machine to give a proper supporting surface and which parts arelikely to become damaged or injured and whichv make the machine cumbersome andl not easily handled.

Other objects of the invention are toI pro- .vide propelling means so positioned with relation to the sailor elements forming the supporting means, that the air through the rotation of the propeller or propellers will 1 be caused to come in'contactv with the sails and thereby materially assist in the lifting power, so that'itvwill not be necessary for the Vmachine to travel as fast to secure the proper eect of the air on thelsails, and as e the speed of the machine increases, the sails may be adjusted so that the said machine may glide swiftly through. the' air with very little resistance; to provide means whereby the sail area both at the back and at. the front of the propelling means may be sub-V stantially the same so that thelifting eifect will be substantially equal; and to so construct the machine that the weight will be below the supporting elements and substantially centrally thereof in 'order that proper steadiness and equilibrium maybe properly sustained.

Another objectof the invention is to provide simple and efficient means whereby suitable rudders may'be operated to steer the machine, and the said rudders so positioned' that they are not likelyto be injured.

A further object of the invention is to Specication of Letters Patent.

Application led J'une 22, 1909." Serial N'o. 503,654. l

:Ovide simple operating mechanism for the PatentedJ une '7, 1910.

several parts of the machine, and to so con-v struct -the machine that the same will be very light and at the same time very strong and eective in use. l

With these and other objects in view, the

invention will be hereinaftermore particularly described with reference to the accom'- panying drawings which form a part of this specification, and will then be 'pointed out in the claims at theenldl of the'description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2is a vertical section taken on theline II-II of Fig. 1. Fig. 3' is a fragmentary sectional plan, taken on the line III-III, showing the rudder and means for operating the same. Fig. 4 shows how, the sails or supporting elements may be made hollow to be filled with gas to assist in the lifting power; andFig. 5 shows how the sails may bevcurved-to give a greater area in a. vgiven space.

The frame 10 may be of any suitable con'- vstruction and arranged in any desired way.

As shown it is substantially rectangular being provided with the uprights 11 at the front of the machine, and uprights 12 at the rear of the machine, and these uprights may be arranged in pairs and are connected and rigidly held by the longitudinally-extending bars or beams '13, and' the transversely-extending beams 14, and underneath thetransversely-extending beams is a cage or other part `15 serving, as a place for the Operator who is to manipulate the machine and'also for one or more passengersif desired. The cage or body 15 may be partly" or wholly closed and is located under 'thev frame substantially centrally of the machine, so that the weight placed therein will be properly distributed with respect to the other parts of the machine.

A plurality of sails 16 are arranged at the front ofthe machine, and a plurality of sails 17 at the rear of the machine. These sails or supporting elements are arranged in,` sets and may be substantially rectangular in form. Each sail has a substantially plane surface and may be constructed with a frame having a cloth or other body secured to said frame or otherwise made as desired, and the sails or elements 16 are pivotally held, at 18, between the yuprights 11 of the frame, and the sails or elements 1T are pivotally held,'at 19, between the uprights 12 at the rear of the machine frame. The set or group of sails 16 land the set of sails 17 may be moved together either upwardl or ,-'downward,so. that proper resistance may beA offered to the air in order to cause the Inachine to rise or lower in its flight, though, ofcourse, each set of sails may' be indeendently operated in case it is desired to -o'fso.- Each of the sai1s16 is secured to a movable element or connection at the rear thereof' so that all ofl the sails 16 willbe l moved in unison, and said element or con- .neetion may be in the form of' a cable, chain vor other means, or eyes may be provided,

as 21', connected together by links 22, and

tothe outer sails may be connected a fiexible connection 23, one end of which is fastened to the upper sail of the set 16 and is adapted to pass about a pulley 24 to and around y an idler 25 under 'the lower beam or bar 14,

-rod 29 to move the drum and thereby adjust the sails 16 either' upward or downward according to the direction of movement of said drum. The sails 17 are'smilarly held to move in unison, and as shown are so .con-

nected to the drum'26 that they incline or adjust themselves in the samefdireetion and simultaneously with the movement 'of the sails 16. These sails 17 are connected together by the links 3,0, and through a flexible connection 31 which passes about a pulley 32 at'the upper part of the lfra-me and around ythe drum 26 to be operated thereby at the `same time that the sails 16 are adjusted. v

The group of sails 16 and 17 are spaced apart, as at 33, and in said space substantially centrally of the machine,` is arranged.

one. or more propellers- 34. The propelling means is mounted on a 'shaft 35, and this shaft,may be rotated by a chain 36 Voperatively connected to a'suitable motor 37, as

a gasolene or any other motor, so that as the said. motor is operated, it will rotate the propeller or ropellers and cause the air'to be drawn unc er the sails 16 and forced back under the group of sails 17, to increase the lifting force ofthe sails 17 owing to the air being forced under said' sails, thus overcoming the necessity for the high speed. of

' a machine of this character in order to get 38 comprising. two members 39 and 40' which the proper supporting effect of the air to sustain the machine.l

. To .properlystee'r the machine, various means and arrangement of devices may bey employed. As shown, I provide a rudder are pivotally held at 41I at the lower part and at the rear of the machine in the space between the lower sails or elements, and connected to the rudders so as to shift the same laterally in a horizontal planei's a `rope or other connection 42. This rope' or connection 42 is held to the rudders or steering.

means substantially at the center or pivot of the sails 17 to which the .rudders arevheld and with which the rudders move, so'that very little movement is given to the connection 42 should the sails 17 be adjusted up# ward or downward. The flexible connec tion 42 is secured `at itsv ends to opposite sides of the lower member-39, and one end of the connection passes around pulleys 43 on one side of the machine, and around pulleys44 at the other side of the machine, and said connection then passes around idlers 45 and 46 to a drum 47. This drum may have a worm gear formed as a part thereof which may be operated by,a worm 48 located withf in convenient reach.of the operator, so that as said drnm is rotated, it will move the steering rudders laterally according to the direction of rotation of-said drum, though the steerin means, as well as .the adjustin means or the sails', maybe of lany suitab e construction. 4 v

The cage 15 maybe provided with a seat 49 for the operator and one-ormore seats 50 for a passenger or passengers, and as will be seen the motor and mechanism is disposed substantially centrally of the machine and under the sails so thatin case of accident, the sails may be made to act in substantially the same manner as a parachute, and4 should the machine fall from accident or otherwise,'the machine or occupants thereof 'are not likely to be injured.

In Fig. 4 is shown a construction whereby each sail or. supporting element may bemade hollow. f The frame of the element-or sail 51 may be suitably braced and may be covered by fabric yor otherwise, and the space withinthe sail may be filled with gas in order to assist in supporting the ma-l chine, and said device may be pointed, as at 52, both at the rear and front thereof to ofllU feras little resistance as possible to the air. In Fig. 5, the sail or supporting element instead of being made` straight, may be curved transversely of the machine so that the surface area of the sail may be somewhat greater wthout being any wider, and in this case [the sails may be connected together in setsand may be pivotally held to the machine frame as already described.

It will ben understood that thel sails may vary in size, that. is each sail may be narrower than the one above Ithroughout the entire series, so 'that a better effect on the air may be obtained, and particularly when lowering, as each sail at its edges` will 'eX- tend beyond the one below and will thereby have a parachute effect on the air.

From the foregoingit will be seen that a simple and elicient machine is providedl in which a large supporting area is located within a compact space; that said machine has a number of superposed supporting elements or sails so arranged that they may be adjusted together and thereby properly control the machine in its flight; that the weight` of the machine is so distributed that it' is substantially balanced so that it is not likely to turn over in case it should fall through accident or otherwise; that said machine has its propelling means so arranged that it will assist in supporting the machine in its flight through the air; and that simple means is provided for steering the machine and which is so arranged that the said steering means is not likely to be injured while in use. i

Having thus described my invention, I claim'as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent p l. In an aeroplane, the combination with a frame, of a set of horizontally arranged and super-posed sails located at the forward part thereof and pivotally held to the frame, a set of horizontally arranged and superposed sails pivotally held at the rear of the machine and separated from the first-mentioned sails, 'means for moving the sets of sails in unison, propelling means 'arranged between the sets of vsails so as to force the air under the sails at the rear of the machine,- steering means carried by the rear set of sails, and means for laterally moving Asaid steering means.

2. In an aeroplane, the combination with a. frame, of a set of superposed and horizontally arranged sailslocated at the forward part thereof and pivotally held to the frame, a set of horizontally arranged'sails pivotally held at the. ear of the machine and separate from the rst'- mentioned sails, means for moving the 'sets of sails, propelling means arranged between the sets of sails, steering rudders carried by the rear set of sails, and a means for laterally moving said rudd'ers.

3. In an aeroplane, the combinationl with a frame, of a plurality of sails located at the forward and rear parts thereof, means for moving the sails, and rudders carried by the said rudders. v

4. The combination with a plurality of horizontally arranged and pivotally held sails located at the front and rear of the machine, ofA steering means pivotally supported to' move laterally on the rear sails, and means for operating said steering means.

5. In an aeroplane, the combination with a frame, of two sets of sails, means for pivotally holding said sails, means for moving said sails in unison, propelling means, a cage located under the frame substantially centrall'y of the machine, means located within the cage for operating said propelling ROBERT E. GREEN.

Witnesses Y M. A. TowNER, Jr., C. BARTELs.

rear sails, and means for laterally movingv ineans, and steering means pivotally sup- 

